


Heart with Your Name on it

by Amieari



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Kid!Ori - Freeform, M/M, brothers ri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:18:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9980081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amieari/pseuds/Amieari
Summary: Little Ori comes into a gift.Brothers Ri centric for now. Pairings to be added as they happen.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a heads up: there is a death in this chapter. And descriptions of dealing with it from a child's point of view. Nothing graphic, nothing disturbing.. but never the less, not a happy chapter.

Ori was the only one at home that night.

Both of his brothers had left early in the evening, neither thinking anything of it. Dori was out with a group of friends from the textiles guild, and Mahal only knew where Nori had ended up. Both of them were of age, though Nori just barely. This meant that Ori was very little indeed, not past twenty yet. 

It was just him and their mother that night.

Ori had been tucked in to bed by his mum, kissed softly and sung to. If there was something just a little off in her mannerisms, or the light in her eyes just a little dimmer, Ori didn't see it. He was too young to pay attention.

He knew though, the instant she let out her last breath. 

He had been sleeping soundly when his body suddenly seemed to grow unnaturally cold. He woke himself shivering violently, breath fogged in front of his face. It was enough to make him leap from the bed, shocked and frightened. His eyes scanned the room but saw nothing; His own breathing harsh in his ears. 

With a visible effort, he calmed himself so he could listen. Crouched in the corner of the room, automatically putting his back to the wall, he waited for any sound or movement. 

There was nothing. 

The absence of sound was telling. Still cold, his hands shaking, Ori crept slowly out of his room. Down the hall past Nori's empty room to the door at the end. He pushed it open slowly, not knowing what to expect and still on the alert for any change in the silence.

There was nothing. No sound, no movement, no warmth.

Living in Ered Luin, Ori had been exposed to death more than he perhaps should have. It had always seemed just a little foreign, like something that happened to other people. He knew the right things to say to people when they were in mourning, thanks to his mother (and Dori) but none of it had actually made him feel much of anything. 

He knew as soon as he stepped into the room, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that his mother was gone. And suddenly death seemed a bit too personal.

He gasped and then slammed his hands over his mouth. The sound shocked him after the silence of the room.

Slowly he crept ever closer. 

He could do nothing. Tentatively he sat at the foot of the bed and just stared at his mother's form. If he didn't know in his bones she was gone, she could have been sleeping. He still had his hands over his mouth, so he let them drop. His mind was a blank and his eyes couldn't focus. He didn't have anyone else he could go to, not late at night with his brothers gone. But he couldn't go back to his room and leave his mother alone. He was often told later how brave he must have been. How he had been strong despite his young age and so so brave. Ori didn't feel brave or strong that night. He didn't feel much of anything.

Eventually he laid down across the foot of the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

\----

He was awoken in the morning, in the same position, by movement in their kitchen. A masculine voice hummed and it started to smell like breakfast. 

Ori rubbed his eyes. Dori must have made it home. It was unusual for his brother to be out all night, and to be so cheerful so early. Something good must have happened. No doubt Nori would make fun of him as soon as he was back. 

He knew he should get up, off the bed and go downstairs to get Nori. He needed to tell someone. But he was almost reluctant to disturb the strangely peaceful atmosphere in the room. He had had the strangest dreams, images that seemed to dance just behind his eyes. And he knew they were all just dreams but he hadn't felt so warm since he'd gone to bed last night. The first time.

In his dreams, he had seen his mother smile. He'd seen her with Ori's father, which was impossible since he had left for the Iron Hills years ago to make enough to bring the whole family with him. Yet in his dream, they were both there, smiling. It was the secret wish in Ori's heart and he had lingered in the dream as long as he could.

Coming back to the present, he wondered the time. And why Dori hadn't come up to wake him.

He moved his stiff legs, swung them over the side of the bed. His stockinged feet made almost no noise when they landed on the floor. He left the room, walking slowly to the stairs. Lovely smells were filling the house; meat, eggs, bread. He wondered what Dori was celebrating.

One stair at a time. Then into the bright warmth of the kitchen. 

Dori was there, smile in place. Two pans were going at once on their small stove. Fresh bread sat on the counter to cool. There was no sign of Nori.

"There you are sleepy head!" chortled his brother. He flashed a happy smile. "Come take a seat. I've made a special breakfast. I have some news!"

Ori opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was rooted to the spot, just inside the doorway. 

Dori finally seemed to notice his little brother's odd behaviour.

"Ori?" his brow drew together.

Suddenly a loud crash came from upstairs. Nori must be home then. Ori closed his eyes. He didn't open them when he heard frantic footsteps up and down the hall, then down the stairs. His other brother blew by him and clutched at the eldest. He could hear their frantic whispers, but he didn't bother to say anything. Then he felt them both brush by him again on the way back up.

Only when they had left the room did he open his eyes again. He walked calmly to the stove and quenched all the fires, moving pans off the heat. He left the food where it was. He had no appetite to speak of. Instead he sat at the table and rested his head on his crossed arms. 

This time he was watching when his brothers came pelting down the stairs back into the kitchen. They both looked frazzled. Nori's hair was loose and floated around his head making him seem almost wild. Dori spared him one glance before heading out the door, and Nori began to pace the floor. Finally he stopped and threw himself into one of the chairs. He still hadn't met Ori's eyes. 

"O - Ori," He started, but something choked his words. Ori didn't bother to break the silence. They both jumped a little when the front door banged open and Dori rushed back through with a healer. They headed swiftly back upstairs, but Nori only watched them go and didn't move from his slump beside the table. 

Making a decision, Ori stood again and walked around to his brother. He pulled all of the flyaway hair into a rough braid down Nori's back and tied it with his own leather tie. His hair was too short to notice if it had been braided or not, but his brother needed it. Usually the middle Ri brother was vain to the point of cocky, never leaving the house without being immaculately groomed. Both of his older brothers suffered this vanity. Ori ran one hand down the braid again, then sat back down.

When he looked Nori had his hand over his nose and mouth, bright hazel gold eyes tracking his movements. 

 _You scared me a bit, Magpie._ Nori would say later.  _It felt like you were the older brother and I was the younger. And I had no idea what to say._

The healer left within minutes, setting things in motion no doubt that would lead to the proper procedures and the proper people being notified. Dori came down as well, steps heavy. He sat in a third chair at the table and joined the silent vigil. 

Ori closed his eyes again.

The next few days were a blur. Ori didn't know what exactly was happening, but his brothers were always busy. They were out all day. They did not, however, leave him in the house by himself again. Each day he was dropped off with a distant aunt and uncle to spend the day with his cousins. They were older than him and had no patience for a dwarfing so young. He spent most of his days quietly avoiding everyone. His aunt and uncle were sympathetic, but his cousins were not. They did leave him alone most of the time though so that was good.

Five days after she died, Ori's mum was returned to stone. 

During the ceremony, they received a raven. The bird found Dori in the crowd and almost smacked right into him on it's way down. It was bedraggled and exhausted. When Dori read the message it carried, his hunched shoulders fell even further. Without a word, he handed the little scrap of paper to Nori. Both his brothers sat still for a few minutes then turned to face little Ori.

Before they could even open their mouths, he knew. He stared down at his boots and waited for the words.

"Ori.." Dori started. "Your da.." 

"Your da was killed in a mining accident." Nori finished, glaring. 

Ori knew his brother wasn't mad at him. He knew. He was mad at the raven, at his da, at the world. But that fierce look was the last straw and Ori needed to get away. He stood up suddenly and left the building. He heard his brothers call for him, but he pretended not to hear.

He kept expecting the shock of the news to hit him, but still things were strangely calm. His heart beat in time with his marching feet as he walked. If he was being honest with himself, he had known since that night. He had looked at his mother and known. Her heart had been like a book to him, open to the page of her soul connections. All broken. His da had been the last one. 

The healer hadn't known the cause of death. He said it was like she had just stopped living. So he wrote it down as a heart attack even though she showed none of the signs. (And Ori wasn't supposed to have heard any of this. He had listened behind a door as this was all explained to his brothers). What if she had just stopped, exactly as the healer had guessed. Her soul bonds were broken, each of her loves had passed on. She had no other pieces of her soul waiting to be found. 

 _What about me?_ Ori couldn't help but think. His brothers had grown and were making lives of their own, but what about Ori? He was still a dwarfling, still young. He  _needed_ his mother. What use is a soul bond if breaking it makes you abandon your family?

For the first time since he had felt her pass, Ori cried for his mother. Large, hiccuping sobs while he walked. The tears flowed down his cheeks and soaked his shirt. 

Suddenly he stopped. He didn't think to go too far, but lost track of himself and had wandered to an unfamiliar part of the city. His heart dropped as his eyes widened.

And then just as quickly he was enveloped in strong arms. Dori on one side, Nori on the other. 

"I'm so sorry Magpie," watery words from one side.

"Ori. Oh Mahal protect us." from the other. 

The arms tightened and then he was lifted suddenly. He was too big to be carried like a baby anymore but he made no complaints as Dori held him. All three brothers walked home together and that night they slept in the same bed for the first time in years. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry. I know I know! I broke my own heart too. :( I'm so so sorry.  
> Little brave Ori.
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> We meet more of the crew next chapter. Maybe some Durins? ;)


End file.
